Leaf Dragon

the dragon pretends

she's a blood-red maple leaf

points extended as she drifts

so large now, she could crush a tree

beneath her might but she remembers

how as a hatchling she spent endless hours

studying the lazy spiral of leaves

that on windless days took so long

to spin down, down, down

she flares out her wings

jaw agape to drink from clouds

amber eyes to slits

she floats

down, down, down